An Exchange of English and Italian Talent

Serie A leaders, F.C Juventus put on quite a performance February 15 against Italian rival team, Frosinone with an impressive three goals against a disheartening zero. Six minutes into the first half Paulo Dybala scored a beautiful strike to give Juventus the early lead. 11 minutes later, defender Leonardo Bonucci was able to force the ball into the Frosinone net off of a corner kick. Solidifying their lead, Cristiano Ronaldo finished off a series of passes from Paulo Dybala to Mario Mandzukic who then cut the ball inside the penalty box to an awaiting Ronaldo. Juventus are 14 points ahead of second-placed Napoli and are more than likely on a direct track to win their eighth consecutive Serie A title.

Their performance in Serie A shines just as brightly in the UEFA Champions League, where they edge out Manchester United to lead Group H with 12 points.

Manchester United have had a surprisingly restless season. The signing of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was expected to be a promising venture, especially with other football stars such as Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, David de Gea, and Ashley Young.

According to ESPN, Manchester United are prepared to shed themselves of the Belgian star in the upcoming summer in order to make room for the arrival of Juventus star Dybala or Inter Milan’s unclaimed icon Mauro Icardi. It seems that the relationships between each of these talented and their respective coaches is the main reason that they are being offered to other teams. Dybala has had a poor history with Juventus club manager Massimiliano Allegri and Lukaku has fallen out of favor with United club manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who prefers the tenacious pacing of Marcus Rashford at the center forward position.

Icardi has, as of recent news, an uncertain future at Inter Milan and will most likely find himself at a new club in the immediate future. On February 13 it was announced that Icardi was stripped of his captaincy and in retaliation, Icardi refused to travel with the team to face Rapid Vienna. He was then disallowed to play against the team, but according to a report on ESPN, from Inter Milan’s club manager, Luciano Spalletti, Icardi did not want to play, “Mauro was called up for Vienna, but he didn’t want to come. After lunch, he informed the club that he didn’t feel like coming with us. Obviously he was disappointed, but there are things going on which are disturbing him and the team.”

In relation to his recent performance against Frosinone, Dybala has regained some lost favor from Allegri. In a statement to Sky Sports Italian Allegri said of Dybala, “I’m happy for Paulo. He scored a good goal and forwards live for that…we need a player who works between the lines, even more so this year as we play with two strikers as well as him…this has maybe limited him a little in terms of finishing, but not in terms of the matches and his performances.” According to calciomercato.com, Dybala has expressed an interest to leave Juventus sooner rather than later. In a conversation he had with the Argentine, Allegri stated, “I spoke to him [Dybala] before the holidays and his goal is to play another great season with us and then go to a great team to improve. If you play at Juventus you have three chances: Real, Barça or Bayern.” It seems that any deal offered by United will be most likely denied by Dybala, who sees his future elsewhere in Europe.

Icardi however, will be a prime target for the historic club, but they will have to face opposing offers from other teams like Chelsea and Real Madrid who are facing similar hardships.